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Earthquake Lights (EQLs) seem to be old phenomena. Irish engineer and amateur seismologist Robert Mallet published a catalogue in 1851-1855, where he dated back EQLs to Biblical times, interpreting descriptions of fire-columns in the Bible as early observations of EQLs. The Italian priest and naturalist Ignazio Galli published in 1910 a first classification scheme of EQLs. In his book Raccolta e classificazione dei fenomeni luminosi osservati nei terremoti (Collection and Classification of luminous phenomena observed during earthquakes) he recognized four types: short-lasting (just a few seconds) and long-lasting (for minutes or hours) diffuse lights, flares and luminescent clouds and finally moving orbs of light.

He also noted that the different EQL types show different temporal patterns. For example, short-lasting lights like flashes occur mostly before a quake, clouds and orbs during a quake and flames after. However, nobody could explain the origin of these apparitions. One of the most plausible explanations at the time, proposed by Italian seismologist Giovanni Ciuseppe Bianconi in 1840, explained the lights as burning gas (“Swamp gas?” as agent Mulder would state), coming from fissures opening during a quake. However, burning gas could explain only small flames, not large-scale glowing clouds.

For a long time, only anecdotal accounts and tales existed and most seismologist didn´t take accounts of EQLs very serious. It wasn't until 1973 that Japanese geologist Yutaka Yasui provided some photographic evidence, showing glowing reddish and blue clouds in the sky above the city of Matsushiro during a series of earthquakes occurring between 1965 and 1967.

So EQLs seem to be a real thing, however, we still don´t know exactly why they occur. Today’s best explanation considers electromagnetic effects behind the atmospheric glow; this could also explain reports of malfunctioning electronic devices (especially telephones) during such events. Electric charges can accumulate over time during the tectonic deformation of rocks, during an earthquake this energy is suddenly released in form of a visible spark. EQLs could also be a sort of glowing gas, formed by the ionizing properties of this energy.

Some researchers made even a connection of EQLs to another, supposedly unexplained phenomenon – Unidentified Flying Objects, or UFOs. In 1977, psychologists Michael A. Persinger and Ghislaine Lafreniere published the book Space-Time Transients and Unusual Events, arguing that UFOs are misidentified electric sparks from underground caused by accumulated electric charges.

Going even further, some UFOlogists speculated that the generated electric fields are strong enough to influence a bystander´s mind and cause hallucinations. To support their hypothesis the authors tried to correlate UFOs sightings with seismic zones in the U.S. However, there also seems to be a high correlation with booze consumption…

UFOs, UFOs everywhere …. simplified map with seismic activity in the United States and supposed areas of increased UFOs sightings in 1870-1960, modified after PERSINGER and other authors.